NASA's Opportunity rover has now broken the (do you call it "world's"?) record for extraterrestrial longevity. The little fellow, designed to last three months, has now been patiently crawling over the surface of Mars for six years and 116 days. It's now heading for a different crater looking for more signs of former/hidden life.

Lots and lots of attention this week to Rand Paul's victory in the Kentucky Senate Republican primary. A compilation of commentary and opinion on the subject is posted at The Daily Dish. Linked here for possible future reference. There is also an interesting analysis at Salon.

A column at Slate reveals that at least several of the Senators voting on the financial reform bill (which includes an amendment affecting ATM fees) have never used an ATM. There's nothing wrong with that, of course, but it's an interesting sociological observation.

Those of you who are musically inclined should definitely check out a music hack called "The Swinger" - "The Swinger is a bit of python code that takes any song and makes it swing. It does this be taking each beat and time-stretching the first half of each beat while time-shrinking the second half." I particularly liked the "Money for Nothing" and "White Rabbit" hacks. (via Neatorama)

When a woman in Florida renewed her driver's licence, employees at the DMV (?mistakenly) put "Eat Ass" in her address. Lots of blogs commented on the (questionable) humor in this, but most have failed to note that "the couple went to the local DMV to get some answers. What they got was laughter and a quote for another fee if they wanted the license fixed."

If you have any interest in sloths (most people don't, but TYWKIWDBI readers are a bit different...), go to this post at The Amphibian Avenger to view the pix, and especially the third video: "Meet the Sloths."

Terri Schiavo's widowed husband is upset that Terri's brother and other family members are running the Terri Schindler Schiavo Foundation for their own benefit. "In most recent IRS report that the Foundation filed for 2008, it shows the foundation took in $91,568 and paid Terri's dad Robert Schindler Sr., her brother Robert Jr. and her sister Suzanne Vitadamo $59,275, or 64% of the money they raised. Charity Navigator, a respected Charity Rating organization, says any charity spending more than 30 percent on salaries gets a zero rating. The foundation doesn't come close."

Those interested in fashion and design might want to explore the Ye Olde Fashion blog, which has a most interesting array of pix, with some relevant commentary. I'd like to cite the blog for some full posts here, but sadly the blogger doesn't give any credits for the sources of the photos.

Another potentially interesting blog is Dolls from the Attic, which features "the dolls of the Renaissance, and the 19th and early 20th century." I would like to have reposted some of the material here, but unfortunately, like the fashion blog above, it appears that this blogger has omitted primary source information for the photographs.

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"Tai-wiki-widbee" is an eclectic mix of trivialities, ephemera, curiosities, and exotica with a smattering of current events, social commentary, science, history, English language and literature, videos, and humor. We try to be the cyberequivalent of a Victorian cabinet of curiosities.

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I'm using an old photo of my grandfather as an avatar; he would have been amused.
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